“We were the sacrificial lambs” — Josh Radnor discusses his last scene with Ashley Williams on “How I Met Your Mother”

Josh Radnor, best known for playing Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother, has recently discussed Ted and Victoria's romantic storyline in the sitcom. In the July 7 episode of his podcast, How We Made Your Mother, Josh Radnor and his co-host Craig Thomas were joined by Ashley Williams, who portrayed Victoria in the show.

In the 48-minute episode titled How We Met Ashley Williams, the trio reflected on Ted and Victoria's chemistry. The characters first met in Episode 13 of Season 1, at Claudia and Stu's wedding. Josh Radnor compared their romantic portrayal in the episode Drumroll, Please to that in Zip, Zip, Zip.

"We were like being held up to we were celebrated and lionized in Drumroll for our romanticism, and we were somewhat ridiculed in the next one, right?... When you watch a couple in love, if you're, you know, a couple canoes down the river on your relationship, you kind of you're both jealous and disgusted all at the same time of the couple. So, we were kind of we were the sacrificial lambs in that episode," Radnor said.

Josh Radnor also recalled Ted and Victoria's newly blossoming romance in the Drumroll, Please episode and reflected on the final scene in the episode. He described it as something that "felt like a film."

"Well, I'm thinking back to Drumroll, Please. And I just remember it felt like a film...I do remember I love that last scene with us where I come in and my bow tie's untied, and it just looks like the wedding's already over...You know, Victoria has Ted close his eyes and you're gone. You're like poof, gone. I remember our almost kiss, and I don't know, it felt incredibly intimate."

Josh was referring to the scene where Ted and Victoria sit on a piano bench, and instead of kissing, Victoria proposes they "stick with Drumroll." She explains the "drumroll" as the feeling that builds up before a kiss.

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What else did Josh Radnor and Ashley Williams talk about on the podcast?

In the podcast episode, Ashley Williams also shared her experience with Josh Radnor about the time when she first worked in a multicam setup in How I Met Your Mother. She recalled her audition and admitted she thought she would be fired.

"I remember coming in and being absolutely terrified of a multicam format....Like it was a very, um, it was a very like you're safe here, everything's okay kind of vibe, which I definitely did not trust....And I also then was like, as soon as you were like, "No, no, it's different around here." I was like, "Well, I'm definitely going to get fired after the network run through," Ashley said.

Further in the episode, Craig Thomas asked if Williams found it difficult to perform the piano bench intimate scene in a tight studio setting with a live audience. In her reply, Williams said that her only audience was Pam Fryman, the director of the show.

"So, here's where I bring in my only audience member on How I Met Your Mother was Pam. It was I was just doing the play for her, and she was very strict," Ashley said.

She added that Fryman would often counsel her in the parking lot sometimes, and gave her the confidence to work in the multicam setup. She went on to say that Pam Fryman kept her grounded.

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Josh Radnor, who played Ted, launched the rewatch podcast How We Made Your Mother in March 2025. In each episode, he revisits moments from HIMYM alongside co-creator Craig Thomas and various cast members, offering fans fresh insight into the beloved sitcom.